NFL Draft Profile: Devin Leary

The 2024 NFL Draft is less than one week away. Professional football organizations are hosting final visits and making the final adjustments to their big board rankings. Personnel departments are focusing on the last weekend in April for the three-day mega-event in Detroit that will include 257 picks over seven rounds.

For the Kentucky football program, the Wildcats are scheduled to have a busy Day 2 and Day 3 this year. There are a handful of players that could end up being draft selections. KSR is here to get you ready after being there every step of the way — combine, pro day — during the pre-draft process.

Before KSR’s yearly draft guide publishes this week, we will be dropping profiles on all of the expected Kentucky draft picks in preparation for the event. Next up is an ACC transfer who is one of the most experienced quarterbacks in this year’s draft class.

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Player: Devin Leary

• Height: 6012
• Weight: 215
• Age: 24.6
• Arm: 30 7/8
• Hand: 9 1/2
• 40-Yard Dash: N/A
• 10-Yard Split: N/A
• 3-Cone: N/A
• Short Shuttle: N/A
• Vertical: N/A
• Broad Jump: N/A
• Bench: N/A

At the NFL Scouting Combine, Devin Leary only participated in position drills at Lucas Oil Stadium. At Kentucky’s pro day, the quarterback again did not do any athletic testing choosing to conduct only a throwing workout. When determining what kind of athlete Leary is, scouts will have to use only the tape.

The quarterback will turn 25 years old during his rookie season, and his hand size does come under the 10-inch threshold that most NFL organizations want checked.

Production

• 2018 (Freshman at NC State): Redshirt
• 2019 (Redshirt Freshman at NC State): 8 games, 5 starts, 407 snaps, 55.9 PFF grade (57.2 pass), 48.1% completion rate (110/210), 1,219 yards, 5.8 yards per attempt, 8 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, 9.9 ADOT, 15.7% explosive rate, 12.1% drop rate, 9.8% sack rate
• 2020 (Redshirt Sophomore at NC State): 4 games, 3 starts, 236 snaps, 78.9 PFF grade (79.2 pass), 60% completion rate (66/110), 890 yards, 8.1 yards per attempt, 8 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 12.5 ADOT, 20.9% explosive rate, 7% drop rate, 6% sack rate
• 2021 (Redshirt Junior at NC State): 12 games, 12 starts, 812 snaps, 84.6 PFF grade (85.1 pass), 65.7% completion rate (283/431), 3,433 yards, 8.0 yards per attempt, 37 total touchdowns, 5 interceptions, 9.3 ADOT, 17.4% explosive rate, 7.5% drop rate, 5.5% sack rate
• 2022 (Redshirt Senior at NC State): 6 games, 6 starts, 371 snaps, 68.4 PFF grade (64.8 pass), 61.1% completion rate (118/193), 1,265 yards, 6.6 yards per attempt, 14 total touchdowns, 4 interceptions, 8.6 ADOT, 15% explosive rate, 9.2% drop rate, 4% sack rate
• 2023 (Super Senior at Kentucky): 13 games, 13 starts, 721 snaps, 72.1 PFF grade (70.1 pass), 56.3% completion rate (209/371), 2,746 yards, 7.4 yards per attempt, 26 total touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 11.1 ADOT, 18.3% explosive rate, 10.7% drop rate, 5.4% sack rate
• Career: 43 games, 39 starts, 2,547 snaps, 59.1% completion rate (777/1315), 9,553 yards, 7.3 yards per attempt 93 total touchdowns, 28 interceptions, 10.1 ADOT

Background

Devin Leary was a four-star recruiting win for Dave Doeren’s NC State program out of Sicklerville (N.J.) Timber Creek in the class of 2018. The top-350 prospect finished his prep career as New Jersey’s all-time leader in passing yards (9,672) and passing touchdowns (117).

After taking a redshirt season in 2018 while watching fourth-round pick Ryan Finley from the sideline, Leary would become a starter in the last five games in 2019 as a redshirt freshman at NC State. After an up-and-down year two, Leary would quickly become one of the best quarterbacks in the ACC.

Leary complied 26 career starts during his time in Raleigh with the last three seasons (2020-22) coming under offensive coordinator Tim Beck. During that run with Beck — who is now the head coach at Coastal Carolina — the pocket passer tossed for 54 touchdowns in 21 games completing over 60 percent of his passes each year.

The numbers dipped in 2022 (6.6 yards per attempt, 41.3 % success rate, 2.1% interception rate, 130.9 QB rating, 15% explosive pass rate), but NC State had a woeful rushing attack (No. 90 in rushing success rate, No. 122 in yards per rush, and No. 113 in rushing EPA). However, the good from the first two years outweighed the bad.

Leary posted over eight yards per attempt in both 2020 and 2021 leading the Wolfpack to a 12-3 record while scoring 33.1 points per game. Add in the six starts in 2022, and Leary was 17-4 as a starter under Beck with each loss occurring in true road games against Power Five teams with winning records.

The quarterback entered the transfer portal following the 2022 season and quickly became one of the top available prospects in college football free agency. Auburn and Kentucky emerged as the top two contenders with the latter scoring a big recruiting win.

The expectations were sky-high for Leary coming off of a pectoral injury that knocked him out of the 2022 season early. With the return of Liam Coen, perhaps no offense had more positive preseason buzz in the SEC than the operation in Lexington. The goal was for Kentucky to lean on Leary and Coen to craft the program’s best passing attack since 2007.

That did not happen.

Leary posted a career-worst numbers in completion percentage (56.3%) and interceptions (12). The ACC transfer owned a poor passing success rate (39%) and struggled to hit on a high volume of vertical sideline throws in Coen’s scheme. That ultimately resulted in a poor season, even though the quarterback threw for over 2,700 yards and 25 touchdowns. Kentucky was a boom-or-bust offense with the super senior quarterback who had problems scoring if big splash plays did not occur.

Scouting Report

Devin Leary is a rhythm passer who posted a ridiculous TD/INT ratio (35/5) in 2021. Leary’s quick release produces touch on the football as the quarterback has shown the ability to layer throws between defenders. However, durability is a concern as Leary has been knocked out for the season in 2020 and 2022. Arm power and velocity are a strength as the football pops out of Leary’s arm.

After playing in a spread offense at NC State with many half-field reads, Leary struggled in Kentucky’s more advanced pro-style schemes. After being billed as a great processor, Leary would get locked onto targets early in the progression, and he did not appear to be fully comfortable in Coen’s scheme. The undersized quarterback is a true pocket passer who is slippery in the pocket and does a good job of avoiding the rush.

Unexpected inaccuracy showed up at Kentucky. Leary was more fastball pitcher than expected and had some issues in the short-to-intermediate game delivering the ball with accuracy. After hitting on sideline go-routes at NC State with good efficiency, Leary really struggled at Kentucky. The inaccuracy likely had much to do with the high volume of drops we saw from Kentucky’s offense.

Devin Leary is an experienced and tough quarterback who stands firm in the pocket and will make throws under pressure, but the veteran seemed overwhelmed when he stepped outside of a true spread offense. The soon-to-be 25-year-old rookie will have to show teams that he can master the pre and post-snap knowledge required in a pro-style system. The physical tools are all there, and Leary’s arm power will give him at least a puncher’s chance at the next level.

Draft Window

• Dane Brugler (The Athletic): 5th-6th round
• Big Board (PFF): No. 250 overall
• Lance Zierlein (NFL Media): 5th-6th round

Devin Leary’s 2021 season was outstanding, but that is starting to look like a one-off. The quarterback regressed at NC State in 2022 and struggled at Kentucky in 2023. There are good play-action reps from his time at Kentucky, and you can find NFL throws on tape, but the volume of misses is concerning. However, the potential and experience combo will be worth a flyer on Day 3.

Expect a team to scoop up Leary and ask him to compete for the backup quarterback job.